Rocky Johnson on Tony Atlas
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Rocky Johnson on Tony Atlas
WWE Hall of Famer and father of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Rocky Johnson talks about his former Tag Team partner Tony Atlas who he was WWE World Tag Team Champions with. Johnson also discusses their personal issues that led to them being on bad terms today.
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He was such a trailblazer and such an inspirational man and definitely was a man to be reckoned with. R.I.P Soul Man Rocky Johnson( rest well sir)
he ain't lying!, when they took the belts from the wild samoans in 82, that feud was pulling huge crowds!!! first black world tag team champs!!!
It’s funny how the rocks family beat his own family to win gold
Lol no what’s even funnier is that the wild Samoans were darker than Tony and Rocky Sr
@@blackway643 exactly
I always believed that Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas could've had a much longer run as WWF tag team champions. I would've loved to seen the wrestle the top heel teams of that time like the Freebirds and the Road Warriors. Thanks for setting the record straight Rocky!
McMahon wasn't gonna let that happen stop it
Tony Atlas screwed the Soul Patrol
I have to say that my brother and I really loved Rocky Johnson back in the 70's. He was in shape and he was one of the few that looked like he belonged there. We looked up to him.
"He had a million dollar body with a 5 cent brain" spot on
How many of us in our 20s were knowledgeable! Didn't Sika assist Tony in Puerto Rico?
Rest in Paradise to the soul man Rocky Johnson
I remember Soulman Rocky Johnson from the Olympic Auditorium days. What a team he n Tony Atlas were. Nice 👍 to see Rocky once again.
J Keys Dick Lane
I remember Bobo Brazil, Freddie Blassie and John Tolos the Golden geek to name a few. And going to Johnny's shrimp boat on Main St after the matches with my Dad to buy some fried shrimp and fries as a kid.
Legion Stadium El Monte.
My mom and uncles would tell me about the Olympic auditorium days they would see superfly Jimmy snuka, Roddy piper, Kamala, superstar Billy Graham dusty Rhodes gorilla monsoon and others from old days now the Olympic auditorium is a Japanese church
The People's Father 😁
Stephen Joens fuck you
😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂
You mean because all the women he slept with on the road? Are you implying he had bastard kids everywhere?
@@salvagemonster3612 No... I think he's referencing the Rock. You know, the people's champion... The peoples elbow...
According to Tony Atlas, Rocky Johnson would book hotel rooms with adjoining rooms. He would have his wife and Dwayne (The Rock) in one room and in the adjacent room, he would have his girlfriend. He would send his wife on an errand for coffee or something, and go over to visit his girlfriend. This is what Tony Atlas said. Neither one of them have nice things to say about the other.
Quiet as it’s kept, The Rock’s mum was a side piece her damn self.
@@mykoniichistorychannel Exactly. Rocky was a big time cheater and gave Dwayne more reasons than not to neglect him and be ashamed of Rocky's side of the family. Dude had several kids and neglected them. Fuck Rocky.
@@mykoniichistorychannel 🧢
The boulder that the Rock was chipped off.
If it’s up to me, I would hug both of these brothers so tight to remind them how much me and millions loved their team/character and like Mr. Johnson said, wish them both nothing but the best.
Only Tony is left 😪
'brothers' ur white dude? i cant stand either one they both liars.
I agree I loved both of them back in the day. I hate to see they didn’t have a good friendship, or any at all. I know The Soulman is gone now, but I hope maybe they both forgave each other. They both had their own problems and quirks , but heck don’t we all? God bless the worlds first black tag team champions! They were great !
To most of y'all, this is The Rock's daddy...
To an old NWA Mid-Atlantic mark like me, it's Sweet Ebony Diamond unmasked!
Rocky Johnson lived a nice cushy life in his elder years because of his son's money. Fair play.
Million dollar body, five cent brain 😂
@@MrNWA4Life except she’s ah marketing genius so this claim is invalid
@@MrNWA4Life you can’t spell and I’m the one that’s high ? 😂 just cause you’re a kid that doesn’t know shit about the wwe doesn’t mean I smoke crack idiot lol
Amazing how greatness breeds greatness
I think this is the first time in history, where in the case of father-son genes, as the father gets older he starts looking more like his son😐
Nathan T G networth yell
Nathan T G What? lol! Dwayne always resemble his pops. It's the other way around
I kinda see what ur saying but I think as men we start to look alot like our fathers once we hit out mid 30' s
Nathan T G
I remember Rocky Johnson being darker.
Bad lighting unless you saw him in person. Also he had an Afro. That added more soul.
I have a pic with Tony Atlas at a Big Time Wrestling event and we ended up talking for 30+ minutes about the legends house... Really cool dude that enjoys talking wrestling
0:13 that Rolex and pinky ring sharp. R.i.p champ
Rocky Johnson was way more interesting to watch in the ring then Tony Atlas. Atlas had charisma but he was the same in the ring regardless who his opponent was. Johnson was not only a better wrestler than Atlas, he was a better wrestler than his son.
It ain't about wrestling...you just don't get it
Who's his son?
@@bobloblaw9791 The Rock Dwayne Johnson.
Yeah right
@@jrsmith1998 maybe to you but his dad was better and so was wrestling in general better pre cartoon era
A black Canadian Samoan chief. Wow
The Samoans are far more accepting of outsiders than most ethnic groups. Rocky married into the family and was considered family not a in law.
johnathan clark there was a big Samoan dude at my old gym that i became friends with around 2000-2001 and one day we got talking about "the Rock" and this guy just laughed and called him a fake and said now Junior Seau is a real Samoan
His father in -law was Peter Maivea (Samoan)
Samoan are like that, once you married or become close friends with them. They will take you as family and nothing else. Very loyal humble people, rocky Johnson was very lucky to have that in his life.
absolutebore
*Miavia
I've heard both Rocky's and Tony's version. Now I/ we need to find the person with the unbiased version. I.E. The truth.
Good luck finding that. I don't mean that in a snarky way. Rocky understood the business, ring psychology and the role. Rocky paid his dues in different territories to learn this. Tony Atlas was a body builder with a huge ego and did not bother to get to know the business in a way to gain long term success. I will take Rocky's perspective over Tony's. This is just my opinion.
Tony’s financial problems are well documented, going back to the late 90s. If Rocky said that Tony burned him on that deal, that’s the side Id believe. Rocky had nothing to gain by lying. He stayed out of the public eye for the most part, so it wasn’t an image issue. And I’m sure that he wasn’t in any financial distress.
@@zlinedavidit seems that a lot of the old timers have nothing good to say about Rocky either. He seemed to be a scam a few people himself. Who knows where Rocky would be if his son wasn’t the Rock.
Wow! Oddly enough even though Tony Atlas didn't get along with Rocky Johnson for some reason they had great chemistry when paired together as a tag team. The first black tag team champions of the WWF. It was nice to see Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson with gold around their waists.
I remember Tony Atlas well! Rocky not so much.
Rocky was 10x better than Tony. Rocky was an incredible worker. Tony was muscle bound and could barely move.
Rocky Johnson was one of the most exciting wrestlers I ever seen in the 44 yrs I'm watching Professional Wrestling.
Nicklas Von Cloust ....you ever “saw” not “seen”
@@frasierthebichon7422 shut up bitch
It took till the 80's to see a black tag team champs? wow
Good point considering that the wwe/wwf/wwwf/wcw/nwa/uwf were around before the inception of the NBA yet all-black starting team appeared within the 1st 5-15 years of the NBA start which means the 50s or 60s.
Black guys made more money as singles wrestlers, tag teams didn’t pay well
This is Amerikkka
Shit still racist
Vince is a racist
Tony was not invited to Rocky's funeral this year
RIP Soul Man
@@roibaptiste3648 I wouldn't go that far, but Atlas definitely respected Rocky for the way he carried himself as a pro at all times. And he was a few years ahead of him in the game. Kind of a big brother.
I am surprised that Tony was limited in the ring. He had a scholastic amateur wrestling background. in the 1980's guys like Tony Atlas, The Ultimate Warrior, Lex Luger, and Kerry Von Erich (Kerry being little better than all listed) had the build but somewhat limited in the ring. If Tony was focused he could have ruled a territory as there regional champion for years.
i think both of them are a little loose with the truth..
My father's favorite wrestler of all time....
I remember being amazed by "Sweet Ebony Diamond" on the old Maple Leaf Wrestling - very athletic - a real show-man. As a young kid and not realizing it was "fake" it seemed like he was able to get out of any hold -do his shuffle and reverse it etc. Pretty under-rated wrestler in a time when then weren't as many body-builder type physiques as well as the athletic ability to do the flips and drop-kicks.
We love Rocky, but honestly Rock, you are worth millions.. Tony Atlas is a great man today, lets help a friend out and say a kind word.
Crazy i didn't know he was also a Samoan chief i knew he was a legend father of The Rock and part of the famous Samoan family that's awesome legendary in every sense of the word Soul Man Rocky Johnson
There is no way Tony Atlas could beat up Rocky Johnson, he sparred with Ali, and was considered to be part of the Samoan family.
One miss and you can lose a fight. There is a way
RIP!
Damn, Rocky's looking great for a man in his 70's!
Java Flav Mhm lol
May my elder contine to rest in power.
He'll always be missed.
“My elder” “rest in power”??? What a bunch of rectal chatter.
@@chrisconley8583
Ignorant people like yourself wouldn't understand how we respect our elders
So please, save your blatant ignorance for those who are down on your level
@@christopherhenson5509 you don’t know me, I could be your “elder” which means that you aren’t even following what you state.
He has a Canadian accent
Rocky Johnson ! REMEMBER him from Dallas Tx rasslin
First time I've heard this side of the Atlas/Johnson story.
Always good to hear the other perspective of the story. I’d only heard Atlas’ shoot interviews.
A lot of people in the comment section don’t know what they’re talking about. Listen to this pre wrestlemania, wwf watcher right here. Rocky Johnson was way more over than Tony atlas. They were my favorite tag team and rocky Johnson was my first favorite wrestler. Whenever they wrestled , rocky was the one who would tag in and the crowed would go ape shit . He would do this dancing type of shuffling with his feet and had so much charisma. I seen where his son got if from. Rocky Johnson was more popular than tony atlas all day long.
Y DOES TONY GET MORE ATTENTION THEN??? IVE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF ROCKY JOHNSON UNTIL I WAS IN MY 30S....I HEARD OF TONY ATLAS WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER 🤔🤔🤔
I listened to both these guys interviews and I find TONY ATLAS to be very credible in what he says, and for rocky to not tell tony his partner that he was a Samoan chief of the samoan brothers having them ruff tony Atlas over a bit ,and not tell him the deal shows total DECEPTION on rocky Johnson
Rock favors both his parents. You can see it. Especially when Mr. Rocky was younger. He trained his son. Rock upgraded after that...T
Rocky J. was a atop talent. I definitely believe Johnson's version of this.
David Williamson
David Williamson
Ofcourse because your a bias bitch
The BIGGEST problem Tony Atlas had was his drug usage.....it completely destroyed ANY chance of having a decent career.
Dr. Cavett--- There are MANY wrestlers who were under the same "conditions" as Tony Atlas and THEY DID NOT take drugs......Crippled Inside brings up a valid point in that Tony Atlas was obviously NOT mentally ALL THERE.
Crippled Inside--- You make a great point about Tony's "State Of Mind".....he was "out there" many times in interviews and when he "tried" to Work The Mic.
DJ Tone Beatz--- Listen up Al Sharpton....he was dangerous in the ring working with other wrestlers and even "The Brothers" said as much during interviews. Put your headset back on practice your beats on your auto-tune numb nuts.
tony had a "decent" career. I mean, you know who he Is, right
Heavy steroid usage was and still is a big issue in professional wrestling and that alone will destroy your body and especially negative affect ones heart and mind. Vince loved those big steroid users because it created the comic book character look he wanted. Tony was a big steroid user and that is the look Vince liked.
I heard Tony Atlas version and he said they actually got in a fist fight and basically the Tag Team titles were forfeited he said Rocky Johnson never liked them
No rocky no rock, plain & simple. Rest in Power RJ.
So this is what The Rock is gonna look like when he gets older.
Slim Jim the rock is older. hes pushin 50.
KING KLIPS Older like his pops. Pushin 70 plus.
His son is already starting to look old, he's bald headed and all tattooed up with wrinkles.
Better to get old than the alternative!
They don't look alike
Rocky is 1 of the Greatest. R.I.P MR.JOHNSON
Saw the Soulman Rocky Johnson may times at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.He teamed with Pepper Gomez, Pat Patterson and at times with his father-in-law High Chief Peter Maivia.
fblassie he was trained in wrestling by his father-in-law Peter Maivia.
Tony is a nice guy. The clashing egos is why they don't like one another
I use to love seeing rocky wrestle. Rip rocky!
Rocky Johnson was incredible. Far more talented than Atlas. He should've been the World Champion.
+Lewis 970 YES! YES! YES!
Sounds like he's full of himself and a good story teller.
I was thinking that. Always was quick to side with the establishment vs Atlas like McNabb vs T.O. The part about owing money sounded more like Atlas did a gig, got paid and left. Now he owes Johnson money for getting him the gig? With friends like those who needs enemies? Don't get me started on Black Man smiling about being deemed a Samoan Chief. Straight out of Sanford and Son.
@@drtroyturner7464this guy is the rocks father? This guy seems PR from NY. The way he talks. I'm PR btw
Always DID wanna know what happened too this team. Very interesting.
R.I.P Rocky Johnson
Thank you Sir for kicking some arse.
I was waiting for Rocky to confess that Tony whipped his ass one day. Allegedly. For being late on numerous occasions and getting them both fined as a result.
He would have kicked your ass easily tho
@Justin Sharpe yea and you three. Least I don't talk shit that idk nothing bout. I'm a mark lol but y'all convo about the business like you'll ever would have had a chance
Awesome content. Subscribed.
They were a great team, and Ron Simmons was better than either of them and also helped break race barriers, but you should not use Ron Simmons as a stand-in for Tony Atlas. Atlas was a phenom.
hacksaw butch reed
This man should have been WWF intercontinental and WWF heavyweight champion.
Yeh not according to Vince
Rocky you are a stand up guy R.I.P AND GOD BLESS.
More like a pos rapist and women beater .
I never liked this guy back in the day. I have to say though that watching him and hearing how straight and honest he is, it's easy to see he's a likeable guy. Seems like just a regular guy.
R.I.P “Soul Man” Rocky Johnson 🙏🏾
Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas could have been an all time great baby face tag team. They drove huge crowds and the mostly white audience loved them and bought tickets to see them all over the East Coast in the early eighties. But Tony screwed the whole thing up and his career in the process.
Are they both in the WWE hall of fame? I think they should be as the 1st black tag team world champions.
RIP Rocky 😢
Atlas doesn't like Johnson either. This is the first I've heard Rocky say something, but Atlas has spoken about his issues with this man before. Kind of funny because there weren't, and still isn't really, that many black folks in wrestling. Not only that, but they were the first black tag team champions. You would think they would have a lot in common. I know Tony had drug issues though. Both of these guys had great physiques, I know most think Tony has the better body. However, Tony kept getting pushes because of that body, I remember when I first saw him on TV, it was in the 80s and he was working for an indy promotion and they called him Superman Tony Atlas. I was in awe, not going to lie, he still looked like a Superman. Since then I've seen enough of him and watched enough to know that he's kind of boring in the ring. In his defense guys did less back then, and big men usually did just the strongman stuff. Rocky Johnson is much better, he had so much energy and worked hard in that ring. The Rock took it to the next level. He has so much charisma, became a real solid worker, and has a great body to. Rock inherited great genetics, not that any of these 3 guys are natural, but still building that kind of body is hard even on the juice.
Their mic/promo skills were poor. They looked great but that was it.
And Martel and garea's promo work was what exactly? Let's stop with the bullshit. How hard was it to get those guys a manager? Smh yell
they were both dumb thats why
I saw Atlas and Rocky vs the Wild Samoans at the Capital Center in Largo Md as a kid. I also loved Rocky’s fued with Muraco.
Tony atlas does have a 5 cent brain though he talks like a goofy troll from a kids movie
@Nikkiz1978 an observation can't be an insult. This is what I myself noticed watching him talk for years. He's one step above Ahmed Johnson
Rocky was darker in old days
I know that's Rocky Johnson. I knew it was Rocky Johnson from the thumbnail. But bald Rocky Johnson looks like Sinbad!
Lmfaooo
Greatest tag team of all time them and the Road Warriors.
I never got to read Rocky Johnson's book, as it got pulled pretty quickly.
When Rocky Johnson spanked the rock he wasn't just whooping the rocks ass
He was whooping the people's ass
Damn I actually remember those Rocky Johnson drop kicks. I’m old asf
When I first started warching WWF wrestling,,Rock Johnson was my favorite wrestlers and the day they one the belts remember McMahon saying that solid oak chair that solid oak chair. It was a good match
RIP Rocky Johnson
Both great legends say totally different stories... Atlas said Johnson would take off on him and leave him behind for certain shows.
Ricky was threatened by tony
RIP Rocky.
Lmao at 4:31 he went out the back door on me both times 😀😂😂
My favorite wrestler Rocky johnson hit dat shuffle and whoop sum azz
Wish "Mr. USA" and "The Rock" would have done a series with "The Road Warriors".
When Rocky and Tony dropped the tag titles to Murdock and Adonis Rocky did the job. Tony just wouldn’t let anyone pin him. Rocky was a team player. Tony wasn’t.
Tony seems like a real good guy
RIP 🙏
Atlas was the original Ultimate Warrior, smh...
I hate to see black people having so much anger towards each other especially in a situation where it's kind of rare to see that many all-time successful black wrestlers.
denzelsnipes69 💯
denzelsnipes69 I agree
So you have no problem with other races having anger towards one another,it's just the black ones that bother you??? If I said "I hate to see white people having hatred towards each other" I would be branded a racist
Its what they do
Then, by all means, stay out of Chicago!
Legend
In the mid Atlantic region in the 70’s Tony was the man. My recollection of Rocky was that he was the first and damn near only black wrestler to wear a mask as Sweet Ebony Diamond. I enjoyed the talent of both wrestlers but make no mistake..Tony was the star...at least in that territory.
He raised a fine son, and that says alot about an individual.
No it doesnt.
Tony gives of himself to a lot of people, unfortunately it takes a special person to fully understand a guy who walks into the DMV and comes out telling everybody to look out for the ailens they are everywhere here in maine and they aren't even green.
I think he is full of it I went to those matches he never out shined Tony atlas
He was more the sidekick with a much smaller fan base
kevin Edwards he never said he did,he speaking about Tony’s perception of him
*I sincerely hope that they can patch things up, it's hardly a secret that Tony Atlas is hurting financially but for Rocky to air dirty laundry about the man isn't cool, I grew up watching these two and I really hope a movie does come out about them the both of them winning the then wwf tag team titles and becoming the first African American champions which was groundbreaking in those day's, I've never met Rocky but judging by this interview and reading other people's comments on this page, Rocky seems to be a prick out of the ring while Tony is just a humble, very nice man who would ALWAYS take time out to sign a autograph or take a photo with a fan when I'd see him in a Boston area independent show*
Tony Atlas tells a different story and I believe him. From everything that has been revealed about Rocky Johnson since his death I don't think he knows what the truth is.
I really liked/like both guys.
I love Rocky Johnson and he may be telling the truth. There's more than one side to every story though. Tony said that Rocky would do him dirty. I mean to the point of where Atlas had to lay hands on him, this was while they were the WWF champions. According to Atlas, Rocky was supposed to pick him up at the airport and never showed up, making Tony late for a show. He says Rocky sold him a car that he never drove because Rocky had also sold the same car to somebody else who was actually driving the car.
Rocky won a world championship with Earl Mr. Universe Maynard in the 70's.
Sweet Ebony Diamond was my fav circa 82
Damn....i can hear rocks voice lol
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